Today's Research for Tomorrow's Cures

April 15, 2016 - 3:53 PM

Beyond the test tubes, microscopes and petri dishes, there is energy in this lab that cannot be described. While developing treatments for sarcoma may seem a daunting task, the team in the lab of Raphael Pollock, MD, PhD, at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute is not dissuaded. This team, a collection of the brightest minds in cancer research from around the country, was assembled and empowered through a passionate community of donors and supporters.

People who understand cancer isn’t going to cure itself. People who have felt the impact that cancer has on our loved ones. People who know supporting cancer research is the only viable option for battling this disease.

Sarcoma represents 1 percent of all adult cancers and nearly 15 percent of all childhood cancers. However, it is often diagnosed when it has become too advanced. While sarcoma can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation, up to 50 percent of instances are entirely resistant to all treatments, thus the extreme need for new therapeutic approaches.

Dr. Pollock and his lab team are invested in a multitude of projects, including one that involves the most common subtype of sarcoma – liposarcoma – which accounts of 40 percent of all human sarcomas. The researchers have identified genetic markers of this cancer that are allowing them to study new molecular-level treatments and identify potential recurrence.

This precision medicine breakthrough is not just sarcoma-related; it has a rippling impact on research conducted for other types of cancer. By examining cancer at the molecular and genetic levels, our researchers can make discoveries that are no longer specific to just one type.

That is why we need your help. By making a donation, you will be investing in our future. Your support will help us continue to find and recruit top talent to our cancer program, like that of Dr. Pollock and his team.

Your investment will allow our research team to conduct basic and translational research that has not been otherwise funded. You will help enhance our laboratory with the latest technology, which will expedite our research.

And most importantly, you will be funding the hope that cures for sarcoma and all cancers will soon be found.